In terms of yardage, point production and pass protection — heck, using any metric — Rutgers' 24-10 loss Thursday night to No. 8 Louisville was its worst offensive outing of the season.

Without leading rusher Paul James for the second consecutive game (and likely with the productive emergence of junior quarterback Gary Nova), offensive coordinator Ron Prince turned to heavy pass tendencies against the nation's fourth-ranked run defense.

The result: a season-high eight sacks allowed, four interceptions and one offensive touchdown in 11 series.

Below is an unofficial tally of Rutgers' formations, personnel groupings and yardage totals. NOTE: I excluded Rutgers' final drive — all passes out of shotgun trips — because of the context of the game.

off-I formation: 12 plays

six runs for 37 yards (long of 16 yards)

six passes — 1-for-3 for 24 yards; two sacks, one fumbled snap

shotgun empty backfield: eight plays

eight passes — 5-for-7 for 15 yards; one sack

shotgun '20' personnel (two backs, no tight end): seven plays

one run for 3 yards

six passes — 3-for-6 for 26 yards

shotgun '11' (one back, one tight end): five plays

five passes — 2-for-4 for 30 yards; one INT, one sack

shotgun trips: four plays

four passes — 2-for-3 for 38 yards; one INT, one sack

off-I heavy (two tight ends): three plays

three runs for -1 yards (long of 2 yards)

I-formation heavy: two plays

one run for -2 yards

one pass — 1-for-1 for 14 yards

singleback '12' (one back, two tight ends): two plays

two runs for 7 yards (long of 4 yards)

singleback '11': two plays

one run for 5 yards

one pass — 0-for-1, INT

shotgun with full house backfield: one play

one run for 6 yards

shotgun with base personnel (two backs, one tight end): one play

one pass — 0-for-1, INT

trips with base personnel: one play

one run for 2 yards

goal line personnel (two backs, three tight ends): one play

one pass — 1-for-1 for 1 yard, TD

off-I '20' (three wideouts): one play

one run for 1 yards

shotgun empty backfield with JT Tartacoff at quarterback: one play

one pass — 1-for-1 for 26 yards

If you're keeping count, that's more than half of Rutgers' plays with pass-friendly personnel on the field. That number grows exponentially when you factor in the Scarlet Knights' final drive, which I withheld based on the obvious passing situation.

A non-existent run game crippled Rutgers'offensive rhythm at Louisville. (AP photo)

That's two whole drives — more examples exist — of limited substitution and fewer different looks. It allows Rutgers to move more quickly in theory, but its offense bogged down against the Cardinals, reducing the effectiveness.

When reviewing Rutgers' eight sacks, fault is a mixed bag. Some came as a result of poor interior protection. Others occurred on edge rushes matched against a tight end or pinched protection.

On back-to-back drives, Louisville recorded sacks on play-action passes out of the off-I formation immediately following runs from the same look.

It all adds up to Rutgers' most sacks allowed in one game in at least the last three years. Reviewing the Knights' game-by-game stats from 2010, when they allowed 61 sacks, results in a server error on Rutgers' athletics website.